Hotel Review: Hotel Les Deux Gares, Paris

Very handy for the Eurostar, the hotel sits on a relatively quiet street which leads almost directly to another major Paris station, Gare de l'Est. While the immediate area isn't particularly salubrious, it's obviously well connected for transport links. Known as Little India, you'll find dozens of cheap and cheerful Indian and Pakistani shops and restaurants in the vicinity, as well as rows of brasseries, all directly servicing departing railway passengers. The Marche Saint-Quentin, a traditional covered food market, is a great pitstop before the train home, selling fresh French produce from cheeses and charcuterie to pastries.

By plane: Flights from London or Manchester to Paris-CDG take 1 hour 15 minutes and the hotel is 30 minutes' drive away. Book flights to Paris.

By train: Eurostar from London to Paris Gare du Nord takes 2 hours 20 minutes and the hotel is 5 minutes' walk away. Book flights to Paris Gare du Nord.

If bright, clashing prints and colours give you a headache, this hotel is not for you. Everyone else will love the juxtaposition of ornate, antique-style lamps, furniture with patterned fabrics and delicate, hand-drawn framed prints. There is a definite Wes Anderson vibe, and the overall feel is of an elegant Parisian townhouse owned by a rather eccentric collector.

There aren't many facilities on site, but there is a small, maximally-wallpapered gym with a treadmill, rowing machine and weights, as well as a sauna. Staff are friendly and on hand with local recommendations.

• Fitness centre
• Restaurant
• Sauna
• Free Wi-Fi

Rooms are designed in clashing colourways, pairing the likes of forest green with dusky pink, teal with red, or sunshine yellow with blue. Headboards are covered in candy-striped fabric, there are contrasting coloured velvet chairs, and switches resemble old-fashioned Bakelite. Some bathrooms have a bathtub as well as a walk-in shower.

Room types: Standard Room, Superior Room, Triple Room, Superior Suite, Deluxe Suite

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with Bonne Nouvelle toiletries, hairdryer, TV, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi

In the hotel itself is a basic café-style counter which serves up breakfast pastries, croissants and coffee. The hotel's sister café across the road, the Café Les Deux Gares, has transformed a tired railway offering into a chic, stylish French bistro complete with red awnings and mirrored walls, and a daily changing menu. You can have everything from a quick café au lait to a three-course dinner in the evening.

Café Les Deux Gares: bar and bistro, French cuisine. Open Tue-Sat, 9am-midnight.